An exhaustive and authoritative investigation into the Christadelphians with links from their own sources as well as insights from former members. Complete examination of their history, organisation, theology, practices, and the challenges they face.

The Process of Conversion

When we consider the “process of conversion” we are looking at this topic from the
perspective of those who seek to persuade, rather than from the inner perspective
of those who make a decision to join. Since both perspectives are relevant
there are two articles. The inner experience involved by a potential member
is considered in “Becoming
a True Believer.” It is worth reading this article in tandem with
that one. By writing two articles it is hoped to avoid two extremes.
The first is to suggest conversion happens purely as a result of individual choice.
By writing an article on conversion we show that this is not the case. Active
methods to influence the individuals will and thinking processes do occur and they
explain why most people follow the faith they were brought up within and come into
a faith as a result of personal connection with believers. This can be proven
through statistics and is true for other aspects of life also. How we are
raised significantly shapes our thinking. The second extreme is to remove
freewill and personal decision making altogether and therefore fails to recognise
there are personal reasons why people join religions. It is also worth noting
some reasons people join are subconscious because we are not purely logical, but
are affected by how we feel. For instance, we are influenced by social benefits
and desires for social acceptance.

It should be noted that in the early days of the movement most adherents came primarily
from other
churches. With second, third and subsequent generations recruitment
has also come from within. In other words, from the children of Christadelphians.
In fact this is the primary method in its traditional areas of Britain, America,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Most followers are born into the faith.
Noting this, Bryan Wilson, a sociologist, very accurately described it as a “family
religion.”

Recruitment Historically

Recruitment efforts historically were directed at those connected to the American
Restoration Movement and those with Adventist links in particular. The primary
message was not repentance of sin, because most already believed that.
It was instead to raise doubts about peoples existing beliefs. The message was baptism and repentance mean nothing without
correct knowledge (as recovered). The idea of it being a simple faith in Jesus as Saviour was rejected. Anything else was to not have the gospel. It was suggested peoples beliefs were as a result of traditions based on an apostasy which started soon after Christianity started. Doubts were implanted and to answer or disprove required existing
Christians to gain advanced Biblical knowledge many have never had. This led to many debates at the time centred around seeking to prove “what the Bible really said” in contrast to what
people had been taught or believed. Many of these were with with church leaders and in quite a few cases were actually published in newspapers of the day. These
were often lengthy and complex and to judge required exhaustive knowledge of scripture
as well as inquiries into the root meanings of words and how as a book the Bible
was to be understood and balanced. The approach taken was intellectual to
a high degree and although the main Christadelphian grouping has mellowed somewhat,
to a lesser degree, is still that adopted today.

The method of conversion is therefore largely intellectual and as a community emotional
methods of conversion are seen as less than rational. The belief is that every
element can be proven rather than being a taught method or dependent upon the Holy
Spirit reaching and converting the heart. As a result Christadelphians see
little role for emotional conversion. Faith is seen to be based upon the rational
belief in facts which can be proven.

The first principles therefore are seen to be to have a correct set of intellectual
understandings. Since it is based upon “correct” scriptural knowledge and
interpretation it is very difficult to reach and convince people who have no knowledge
of the Bible at all. It has therefore had very limited success with people
with no Christian background of any kind. The amount of knowledge to feel
a certainty that Christadelphians “have the Truth” through scriptural knowledge
is considerable and can require years of study. It also requires conformity
of interpreting Bible passages in the way that is taught. Converting through
an intellectual approach is less effective than having some kind of emotional appeal
and is probably one reason why as a community the Christadelphians have converted
far less people than other denominations started at the same time and why conversion
from other churches historically has been a large historical ground of conversion.
Most people feel a need for an emotional element to faith and a system based upon
the intellect and proving can end up feeling over-rational and dry.

This is why a huge amount of Christadelphian talks and articles are not about the
way we live or the heart, but about topics such as the existence of the devil, whether
there is a trinity, whether Christ’s death was substitutional or representative,
whether the kingdom is in heaven or on earth and so forth. Many today still
are and such subjects are believed by many Christadelphians to be the first principles
of the Christian faith. Those who attend their talks will tend to get a huge
diet of talks dwelling on proving doctrinal statements. To express other thoughts
and to see other possibilities will usually lead to attempts to disprove them, often
in a very forceful manner which does not allow discussion. Although Christadelphians
believe, in theory, in the Bible alone they, in practice, do not leave those who
attend free to draw their own conclusions and therefore create a strong pressure
to come to the same conclusions. The motives for doing this are usually a
sincere belief that correct beliefs are necessary for salvation, but in the Christadelphian
position there is also a defensiveness that is linked to this idea. If it
can be proven another way or doubts emerge about any belief or position their theology
makes little provision for grace. Christadelphians often need to feel everything
is without any doubt in any way because their salvation depends upon having correct
beliefs.

The aim is therefore to try through their form of logic to get people to mentally
concede. They do not generally believe in the ideas of people being drawn
to God (although there is some belief in providence) and the main statement has
a rejection
in number 13 which is aimed at the belief that Christianity primarily centres
on a person.

The focus of the community is therefore in locking a person’s thinking into seeing
only one set of possibilities within scripture. Broader perspectives are contended
against in those who attend and often lead to disfellowship of those who have joined.
This is how the community has retained its distinctiveness and today is
beginning to break down as some of the limitations of this have grown and
the internal emotional needs of its members have needed consideration. It
has also led to division for, despite these constraints, various issues have emerged
that have presented unforeseen threats to the structure. One issue which has
emerged repeatedly is that of how God helps us today and how his Spirit works.

Conversion From Outside the Movement Today

The debating method of gaining attention has declined and the primary method used
today in the English speaking nations, where the movement largely formed, is in
giving talks. Most have a specific Sunday evening lecture for the general
public which rarely attract many non believers, but do have a secondary purpose
of converting the young who have not committed. Sometimes a special meeting
(or “effort”) will be organised in a venue on a title felt to be of public interest
and supported with adverts or by leafleting. Attendance by the public is generally
poor, although one or two individuals sometimes go along and having “a witness”
and “sowing a seed” generally is considered to make it worthwhile. Making
an effort is considered more important than effectiveness and going through this
kind of routine convinces Christadelphians they are fulfilling the command of Jesus
to preach. The general lack of interest is usually attributed to the lack
of faith in the “end times” and there is rarely much thought about whether some
of the lack of interest may be due to some inherent weaknesses within the Christadelphian
mindset and a failure of approach. “Special efforts” are commonly held today
in a “neutral” venue such as a public hall or some place where it is felt those
who may not feel comfortable in a church would more easily go to. A common
theme is that of Bible
prophecy and the talks will use modern day events, maybe some recent political
happening or event. These will be presented as sure signs of the soon return
of Christ and this is often a common method to encourage commitment to search out
the Christadelphian beliefs. It is also a way that those searching come under
pressure because they are urged of the need to “be ready” which is presented as
being baptised. However this baptism is not considered possible without having
the right beliefs and this
can create an extended struggle for the potential Christadelphian because
this “searching out of scripture” is not easy.

From time to time Christadelphians arrange “campaigns” to attract more potential
converts. Many are near existing meetings, others are more remote. Those
who arrange and help do so on a voluntary basis and a huge amount of effort goes
into them. The “campaigners” are often housed by nearby Christadelphians and
there is usually some social activities arranged as well as the main preaching work.
Some campaigns are very small with just a few people, others are much larger.
A major focus of some of the larger ones in the UK is a “Bible
Exhibition” which is very professionally presented and is a travelling collection
of presentation displays, videos, old Bibles and other exhibits. Talks are
usually held concurrently in the evenings and the aim is to encourage people to
attend these using interest established by the exhibition. The name Christadelphian
is generally downplayed initially and the “Christian” angle used to gain interest.
Non church locations are usually used initially. The intention is to show
“the message of the Bible” (as understood by Christadelphians) and as a result many
who attend initially will be unaware that the exhibition and talks are promoting
non mainstream Christian views. Those who attend will find themselves treated
in a friendly manner and people will often ask about their lives, what they are
doing and so forth. It should be remembered, however, that the prime intent
is not to be friends, but to convert to a way of thinking and friendship given will
be conditional based upon that occurring. It will also likely be more intense
than may be maintained should the “interested friend” convert.

The intent following talks and lectures is to get those interested into some kind
of structured learning program. It is widely recognised that simply expecting
people to go to evening lectures and that they will become convinced that way is
unlikely. That can happen on an informal basis with people being invited to
share a meal or be involved in events in some other way. A more formal method
is to establish “Bible seminars” one of which is called “Learn
to Read the Bible Effectively.” These sometimes make no mention of
the name Christadelphian at all, claim to never preach and state that the participant
will never be asked to attend a church. In practice the courses are designed
to encourage people to adopt the approaches Christadelphians have adopted and many
of their theological positions are built in. For instance they will refer
to the need to look at root meanings of words and emphasise those on which Christadelphian
theology rests. The aim is to influence in a more subtle way than has historically
been the case and which would be the case if a convert was to ask the question,
“Which church do you go to?” and subsequently decide to attend.

As someone who has participated and been involved in such seminars an interesting
problem can emerge. Certain people attend the seminars and find interest in
learning about the Bible, how it is structured and so forth, but feel no conviction
to go further than learning a set of facts. Since there has been a promise
to not convert and they are presented as being educational rather than religious
in intent as the seminar starts reaching a conclusion there is a lack of certainty
on how to proceed further. The aim and hope is to get people to make the step
from attending seminars to attending a church, but there is no consistent method
to achieving this. The links which it is assumed people will automatically
make therefore do not always occur.

In practice therefore converting people in the traditional areas of conversion is
not easy and the Christadelphian community is declining in its heartlands.
They rely upon a purely intellectual approach without conviction of sin that is
largely too difficult for most folk to easily grasp. Most conversion therefore
comes from the children of Christadelphians.

Conversion From Within the Movement

As noted at the beginning in much of the world most recruitment comes from the children
of Christadelphians. Some of this can be attached to the claim that society
has become more secular and has less interest in Christianity, the Bible and religion
in general. It can also be claimed that society has become more materialistic
in nature. These are common arguments advanced by Christadelphians.
There are however more specific reasons. If we for instance look at other
movements which started around the time (and which have shared origins) such as
the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons and the Adventists, they have recruited more
members from outside than the Christadelphians and have grown to far larger numbers.
How can this be explained? It has been noted elsewhere that initially recruitment
was fast and rapid, but the movement became entangled in
schism. This has always been a feature of the movement because its
whole foundational basis was highly intellectual and the whole emphasis has been
that salvation is dependent on correct theological understanding of the Bible.
This has made recruitment very complex. In other words it is hard to explain
to those not brought up within the movement.

Its lack of success recruiting can also be attributed to some extent to the fact
that almost all effort has been the focus on being a closed community of believers.
Whilst some efforts have always been put into preaching, much has been done in a
rote fashion. Public talks are often conducted in a set way regardless of
effectiveness. Little emotional commitment into real engagement with those
outside has been made. Much effort has been a fruitless going through the
motions. In theological terms there are many similarities with the movements
noted – in their views of the world, their legalism, even being a very enclosed
(some would say cultlike) community. These movements have largely overcome
the difficulties through active recruitment programs, focusing on simple methodologies.
Unlike these movements, most communities run autonomously, without central leadership,
without central planning, without any paid ministers and recruitment is down to
individual effort. No one has to engage with something which in practice is
very difficult to do unlike the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses where activity is
compulsory. Without paid ministers or organisers the sheer effort of maintaining
formal activities on top of the effort of everyday life leaves little free effort
by members. Whilst many members are undoubtedly sincere and enthusiastic about
their faith, it is a religion bounded by organisational formulas, rote routine and
going through the motions that cripple attempts to recruit from outside.

Recruitment from within does not suffer from these limitations to the same degree.
Emotional connection is not made through having any emotional appeal or structured
campaign that is effective. It comes from seeking to limit what are seen to
be wrong thoughts and actions through environmental means in the home as well as
having the faith advocated continually. The children of Christadelphians are
brought up to view the world as evil and the community as safe, other churches to
be flawed and truth to only rest within the community, to associate with other Christadelphian
children and minimise it with other children. Thoughts expressed that don’t
agree with this dominant one are suppressed. This isn’t totally closed in
that Christadelphian children do go to mainstream schools and it isn’t without benefit,
but it does mean every effort to influence them has been made.

Particularly as the children reach the teens the movement can seem more oppressive.
The encouragement to be “separate from the world” in practice means encouraging
them to be less involved with schoolmates and their activities and more involved
with church activities. They also experience more pressure to become baptised,
although it is often worded as “searching the truth out for themselves” and the
“need to be ready for the return of Christ.” They are also reminded about
the pointlessness of life and the impending destruction of the world and signs that
point to that are drawn from the daily news. This can be very difficult for
children and recognising this, the community puts considerable effort into youth
activities. The strong youth movement in the community is undoubtedly one
of its strengths in gaining the young and receives a high priority of time and effort.
This transition is more likely within a peer group of other Christadelphian children
and a lot of effort is put into youth activities and meeting their needs.
For this reason many with children will seek to go to congregations or even move
to areas with other children. Those in larger meetings and with more social
connections are more likely to commit and the isolation of many meetings and the
difficulties of finding partners within is also another big reason. Since
most congregations are small and often some distance apart, accepting the beliefs
isn’t the only issue. Those who remain single can end up very isolated and
outside the small window of youth, with work and time restriction can become impossible.
Youth activities therefore have a strong secondary role for many – finding partners.
It is worth noting here that this is critical for another reason. Marrying
outside the faith is forbidden and leads to discipline. Endogamy (or marrying
within) is also part of the closed setup and a significant number of Christadelphians
could be joined by drawing up a genealogical chart, and family connections are a
common topic of interest.

Christadelphian children therefore experience considerable pressure to conform to
expectations and commit to beliefs which have been inculcated in them. To
believe and commit offers them a community, a settled worldview and acceptance in
a world they are taught is wrong and with churches which are all wrong. Despite
this, it has become less and less effective and more do not join.

The growing failure to convert is leading to a growing interest in home schooling
to counter the “influence of the world.” Some would also like to establish
schools for Christadelphians, such as
Heritage College in Australia.

Baptism

The intent of conversion is to bring a person to the point where they request to
be baptised. It is not normally about convicting them of sin, and repentance
is rarely mentioned. Repentance and baptism are generally treated as though
they are synonymous and
this was a position established by John Thomas where he suggests it is about a change
of mind rather than any sorrow for sin. It is therefore primarily
treated as though it is an intellectual decision based upon having gained a belief
in correct knowledge. It is incidentally for this reason that in the
Doctrines to be Rejected, (number 22), idiots are considered incapable of
being saved, although in practice some Christadelphian children who are very limited
in this aspect are carefully tutored to give the right answers.

Once a person requests baptism, preparations for baptism begin. This usually
involves a
baptismal interview to ensure the candidate has the right knowledge and
proof quotes for answers given are often required. To prepare for this, instructors
historically were used. The examination is usually conducted by brethren appointed
for this purpose and it is rare for people to fail because they are advised against
applying for baptism if they are not considered ready.

Following baptism a person is considered to be a member of the church and by default
expected to abide by the form of
church authority in place, even though in practice a huge number do not
know much about the official documents and rarely give an official agreement to
them. In addition many of them haven’t been translated into other languages.

Growth Overseas

The information above is largely true in the English speaking nations which form
the historical backdrop of the Christadelphians. Membership is declining due
to the inertia of the movement, the rigidity of thought required and poor rates
of young Christadelphians becoming committed. There is a distinct archaism
of thought and approach which has its origins in Victorian England, the organisational
structures and systems established in the past and high resistance to change.
This is similar to the problems of institutionalised religion in other denominations.

Growth still continues particularly in developing and poor countries across the
world as well as Eastern Europe. This has been spearheaded by a Christadelphian
called Duncan Heaster and has centred around the use of a book called Bible Basics which is described
as “being used world-wide as an instruction manual for those seeking baptism.”
He espouses mainstream Christadelphian doctrines, but has adopted very different
approaches and often operates outside historical Christadelphian traditions of how
things are done. This may be partly because his efforts have been in areas
which do not have existing structures and traditions, and which has meant he has
operated with far less restraints over which methods he fixed upon. He has
adopted more pro-active and varied approaches with a large degree of success, but
not without criticism. Some believe this is the direction Christadelphians
need to go, others feel his efforts need restricting and should be more controlled
by existing Christadelphian preaching groups. There has been some criticism
over the validity of his baptisms and whether those converted are sufficiently well
schooled to be considered Christadelphians. His efforts are also connected
with a group called Carelinks Ministries
which focus on the practical trials of the new Christadelphian believers in these
countries and the persecutions and practical difficulties they often face.